Gilead Sciences Inc., which teamed up with PharmaChem Technologies in Freeport last December to manufacture a component in an AIDS drug, now has plans to expand its Global Access Program for HIV medicines to the Caribbean and Latin America.
In December, U.S. regulators granted approval to Pharmachem Technologies’ new pharmaceutical company to manufacture tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (tenofovir DF), the active substance in the immune system boosting drug, Viread.
Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead’s Access Program for HIV Therapies includes expansion to the low-income countries of Bolivia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The company said its mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide.
Amy Flood, Gilead’s public relations officer told The Guardian Thursday that the Freeport plant, which has been manufacturing Viread for the past two months, is operating as expected. PharmaChem meets current U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards for Good Manufacturing Practices and has the capacity to provide treatment for 500,000 people annually. Over time, its production capacity is expected to increase to allow for treatment of up to 1 million people annually. The plant offers highly specialised job opportunities for Bahamians.
At the opening of the facility, Prime Minister Perry Christie said, “The need for effective drugs to treat HIV infection around the world is large and growing, and this new facility in The Bahamas will produce one of the leading drugs used to combat the virus. Together with the people of The Bahamas, I commend Gilead Sciences for making two important HIV medications more easily accessible for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and beyond.”
The Bahamas government spends approximately $6 million every year to care for AIDS patients. Latest statistics reveal that there are 9,764 reported HIV-positive cases in The Bahamas, with 4,549 cases of full-blown AIDS.
More than 3,000 of those people with AIDS have since died, leaving more than 6,500 in The Bahamas living with the virus.
Gilead’s Global Access Program
In a statement, Gilead (Nasdaq: GILD ) said its Global Access Program makes Truvada(R)) and Viread(R) available to physicians, and treatment programs in countries at the no-profit prices of U.S.$29.75 per month (US$0.99 per day) and US$24.71 per month (US$0.82 per day), respectively.
Gilead’s also said its Global Access Program began in April 2003 and originally served 68 countries, including every country in Africa and 15 additional countries classified as “least developed” by the United Nations.
The program’s expansion now means that 95 countries, representing an estimated 70 percent of the global pandemic, would be included in the company’s access effort.
“The expansion focuses largely on the Caribbean region, which is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa in prevalence of HIV. With this expansion, the lowest income countries in the Caribbean have access to Gilead antiretrovirals at no-profit prices,” the statement said.
In addition to Gilead’s expansion, several countries in the Caribbean, including The Bahamas are expected to benefit over the next five years from increased HIV/AIDS funding from donor agencies and grants, totalling $28.9 million from the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS.
In July, Cuba also offered to assist Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas, in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Cuban government, in addition to offering to train 200 medical people to fight AIDS in a facility they said they would build in the region, offered to put regional training centres in each country.
The Clinton Foundation is also assisting The Bahamas, providing access to drugs at affordable prices.
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
